Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-28-Speech-3-093"
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"en.20010228.6.3-093"2
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". – I am glad of this opportunity to update you on the most recent developments in relation to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom. You will be aware that the first outbreak was confirmed on 20 February in the evening. The Commission adopted a safeguard decision the following day, that is on 21 February, at a Commission meeting.
I will caution, however, against drawing any immediate conclusions. For example, the outbreak is already being attributed to poor controls on imports and the intensive nature of agricultural production in the European Union.
Obviously, we will be considering all these issues in the coming weeks and months in our investigations into the origins of this disease. However, we should not overlook the fact that the Community has been hugely successful in achieving its current status on foot-and-mouth disease, at least up to a couple of weeks ago. Vaccination ended in 1991, which has since saved European farmers over EUR 1 billion. It has also allowed Member States to export to countries which insist on imports only from countries which are recognised to be foot-and-mouth disease free and which do not follow the vaccination policy.
Since then, there have been no cases other than in Italy in 1993 and a number of incursions of the disease in Greece next to the Turkish border. Prior to the implementation of the non-vaccination policy in 1991 hundreds of outbreaks were recorded each year. My firm intention is to maintain that success. I hope that I can count on your support for the present zero- tolerance approach towards this disease. I would now like to hear your views on the current situation.
This measure imposed a ban on the export from the UK of certain live animals, that is cattle, sheep and goats, and restrictions on the export of meat, meat products, milk, milk products and certain animal products. It also provided for a review of the decision of the Standing Veterinary Committee on 27 February. This very prompt action has been criticised in some quarters as a panic reaction. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is an essential and very necessary reaction to a highly infectious disease with potentially huge economic and trade consequences for the entire European Union, some of which you have heard about from Mrs Schreyer just a moment ago.
I am encouraged that the decision was strongly supported by the Agriculture Council last Monday. It is also supported by the farming community throughout the European Union including in the UK, as farmers are conscious of the grave threat to their livelihood from this particular disease.
Unfortunately, the number of outbreaks has continued to increase and currently amounts to 22. There are a number of worrying aspects to this outbreak which I should enumerate for you.
First of all, it has been detected in several different counties in Britain with a widespread geographical distribution. Secondly, it has been found not only in farms but in abattoirs, dealers’ premises and collection points. Furthermore, there were exports of potentially infected susceptible animals, in particular sheep, to other Member States before confirmation of the outbreak took place.
I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the UK for its very firm action to bring the outbreak under control. The UK imposed a complete restriction on the movement of livestock in Britain on 23 February in order to reduce the further spread of the disease. This ban has been prolonged for another fortnight.
Given the incubation period of this disease the impact of this measure is not yet fully apparent. The Commission is obviously keeping the situation under constant review and we are in continual contact with the veterinary authorities in the UK and in other Member States.
The situation was reviewed at a meeting of the Standing Veterinary Committee yesterday. In the light of the update on the current situation from the UK representative and the views of the Member States’ veterinary experts, the Commission services proposed the following. Firstly, the extension of the current ban until 9 March. That decision was taken at a Commission meeting this morning. Secondly, Member States shall take any precautionary measures including the isolation of susceptible animals and preventive killing of such animals exported from the UK between 1 and 21 February. The Standing Veterinary Committee gave a favourable opinion to this proposal and it will now be approved by the Commission with a view to entry into force before the expiry of the current decision at midnight on 1 March.
The new decision will expire at midnight on 9 March 2001 and will be reviewed at the Standing Veterinary Committee scheduled to take place on 6 and 7 March. Our current approach is focused on stamping out the disease. We would only turn to vaccination as a last resort, since it would call into question the disease status of the European Union and involve very significant future costs for the farming community and for exporters. Clearly we have to be very concerned with the present situation. The stakes are very high and the costs of failing to bring the outbreak under control are very high. In addition, the timing of the outbreak, as the BSE crisis continues to do its damage, could not be worse."@en1
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